Lleyton Hewitt insists he has nothing to fear when he faces sixth seed Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon on Wednesday
Lleyton Hewitt insists he has nothing to fear when he faces sixth seed Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon on Wednesday.
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Hewitt lost in two tiebreak sets to Roddick in a tight third round match at Queen's earlier this month, but since then the 2002 Wimbledon champion has embarked on his best run at the All England Club for three years.
The 28-year-old Australian has every reason to be upbeat after producing one of his trademark fightbacks on Monday, recovering from two sets down to beat 23rd seed Radek Stepanek 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
That victory, and his second round triumph over fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro, have given Hewitt a much needed boost after a relatively barren run following last year's hip surgery.
Hewitt felt he had the better of two-time Wimbledon finalist Roddick for much of their meeting on grass at Queen's and won't be losing any sleep over the prospect of taking on the big-serving American.
"Queen's was only one or two points. I felt like I had the better of him in the actual service games that we were playing," Hewitt said.
"I didn't face a breakpoint in the whole match. I had one breakpoint opportunity on his serve and wasn't able to take it.
"You know you're going to get aced out there. You know he's going to come up with big shots. You've got to weather the storm and take those small chances when you get the opportunity.
"That's what it comes down to playing these big matches at the end of these tournaments."
Hewitt needed treatment for a thigh injury during the second set of his victory over Stepanek, but he expects to be ready to go against Roddick.
The Adelaide-born star, who last reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2005, has coped with much worse after battling back from his hip problem and he admitted there was a period last year when he was concerned if he would recapture his former glories.
"In the eight months with the hip injury, I was playing and not feeling a hundred percent," said Hewitt, the only Australian in the men's draw.
"I just wasn't a hundred percent sure whether the hip would hold up more than anything. And then other muscles around the hip would start shutting down. It was probably more a question mark just in that period last year."
Now Hewitt is back to something approaching his best form and fitness. With his mind freed of injury worries, he can look forward to competing in the latter stages of Grand Slams once again.
"Obviously when you're making the second week of Grand Slams all the time you are sort of on auto-pilot a lot of times. You go out there and you trust what you do," Hewitt said.
"That's why I've tried to play a lot more tournaments the start of this year to get back in that groove of playing a lot of matches.
"I've always been fit enough and hungry enough to keep fighting and have that never say die attitude.
"But obviously winning these tight matches against quality opponents gives you a lot more confidence."
Hewitt has won six of the pair's 11 meetings, but Roddick has won the last four, a run stretching back over four years.
"It doesn't get any easier from here. I have loads of respect for Lleyton and what he's been able to accomplish," said Roddick who made the quarter-finals with a straight sets win over Czech Tomas Berdych.
"Everyone knows he's capable of playing very, very, very well on this surface. It will be a tough one."
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